sintitulo

Hi!
I'm glad you're interested in reading what I'm writing!
In this entry I will just explain the purpose of the trip and what my jobs are about.

This trip to Campeche is basically an exchange program that is done every year between Stetson University and the Instituto Campechano. Every year one person from each place goes to the other for about 4-6 weeks to learn from a new culture, do an internship or take classes, and for some, learn a new language. At first, when I heard about the program, I wasn't too interested because I didn't think I wanted to go to a small town in Mexico for the summer, but after I was convinced to apply and I realized that I wanted to do something productive during the summer, I decided to apply without any hope. I wrote an essay and fortunately I was the one student selected to come to Campeche.

I didn't know what I was going to be doing and where I was staying until I got to the airport in Campeche. The teacher here that organizes the exchange program picked me up and took me to the family's house. He placed me in the "Secretaria de Turismo Municipal" which is the branch of the government that takes care of tourism in the city of Campeche. The director of the office wanted me as her personal assistant. So basically I call her doctor, her nanny, her husband, etc... I keep her agenda updated, carry her phone at events when she needs me to...etc.. it's interesting...reminds me of Devil wears Prada. But she is taking me with her to Calakmul, a beautiful city in the state of Campeche in which there are several Mayan constructions and there is also a lot of vegetation and wildlife (tigers, panthers,....)... or at least that's what I heard. So I'm very excited about that. But I don't feel like I'm learning anything with this job so I decided to ask if I could work somewhere related to the Environment. So I will be working in the department of Environmental Science in the University of Campeche, starting Monday, after I go to Calakmul. I'm excited to learn more about environmental science and I think working there will be beneficial to my career since it's more related.

Twice a week I have to give English classes. I thought I was going to help in a class but I am tutoring one guy who is the son of the director of the Instituto Campechano. He isn't taking any English classes so I have to make up a class. Today we had the first one and since I didn't know what to expect, I didn't have anything prepared and I've never given a class by myself before. So hopefully next time I'm more prepared and I can teach him something. Funny thing is that he was told that I was an English teacher, so when he saw me he treated me as an older lady (using the "usted" form, a formal way in Spanish in which people talk to elders to show respect). When he found out I was only a year older that him, he said he thought I was 30 years old!!!! ugh.....

Okay that's all I'm writing today because I'm too tired so I'm going to sleep. Good night! I will keep writing as much as I can. :)

SP

"Ahorita"

Hello! I can finally sit down and write my first blog entry. I've been in Campeche since May 18th, but little after I got here, the puppy ate my computer charger, therefore I wasn't able to use my computer. I just got my new charger in the mail so I decided to start blogging right away! I will be writing in English so that more people can understand. :)

My first days in Campeche have been really nice; I've learned a lot from the culture and I've visited several interesting sites. Campeche is a state in the south east of Mexico. It is located in the Yucatan Peninsula. I am in the city of Campeche, which is absolutely beautiful. I've never been anywhere like this before. In the "centro historico" the houses are all painted in different colors and they all have a colonial look. It's a very nice area to take some nice, colorful photographs. Campeche is very calm and quiet overall, especially in "downtown." Everything we hear about Mexico from other countries about the lack of security and the high rates of violence and kidnapping is not true here. Fortunately, it is a very safe and calm area where people can walk around at night without being scared for their lives. I would even say that it is safer than any city in Argentina. I've been able to walk around by myself with my Nikon, looking like an obvious foreigner, without a problem. 

In this entry, I wanted to talk about something I learned from the local culture that is a little hard to get used to. Like I said, the lifestyle in Campeche is very calm. I have noticed a huge difference in terms of their perspective towards time. Coming from the US, I was used to a culture that sees time as a very valuable matter. In the US, "time is money." While in Campeche, they see time in a more holistic way. They like to take their time to do things and enjoy what they're doing without worrying about "running out of time." Of course, one can argue that this is a great lifestyle because they enjoy life more and they aren't always in a hurry. But experiencing it has actually been hard to me. I usually get used to new cultures easily, since I am used to moving and experiencing different societies with varying world views and lifestyles.  But since this trip is not only about visiting and fun, but it is more so to get working experience and learn new useful things for my career, it has been hard to get used to the calmness of the place. They perspective on time affects them in several ways. Some of them tend to be very unpunctual, which is what has been the hardest to get used to. They have something called "el tiempo campechano," which makes reference to the fact that when someone says they are going to be somewhere at a certain time, they will most likely get there at least a half an hour late. I guess that since this is something that happens often here, everyone is used to it so they go somewhere knowing that the meeting time is not really the actual time it is going to start. The first week, I was told to be places at specific times, and they had me waiting for a long time, up to even two hours. I had a lot of time sitting down waiting during the first week.

Another way in which their perception of time affects them is in their work ethic. They are, in general, calm at work. They generally don't get too stressed about their jobs. At the place where I'm working I see that my co-workers have a few specific moments at which they get fed up with something and they act like they are stressed but during the majority of time they remain calm and making jokes. They take several breaks. The common working hours in the office for most employees is 8am-3pm, but many of them get there later than 8 every day. Some of them don't get there until 10. The director of the office usually gets there at 11am. Also, once they get there, they leave for a moment to buy their breakfast. Throughout the morning they take breaks to go buy snacks. Of course, when they have a lot of work, some employees are very serious about it and you don't see them taking breaks or talking to anyone. But I have seen a lot of employees getting on Facebook or online chatting at work.

Something that is very common here is the word "ahorita," which is literally means "small now." What they mean when they say ahorita is "in a short period of time." So a lot of times when I was waiting for someone, I was told "ahorita viene" (he's coming soon). Everything is "ahorita" but I haven't yet managed to figure out how much time is a short period of time for them. When I am told that something is going to happen "ahorita" or that I should go somewhere "ahorita," it is hard to determine how long I should wait. At work, of which I will talk about later, I've made phone calls and I was told to call back "ahorita" or sometimes they tell me 15 minutes. But it is also hard to know what they really mean by "quince minutitos." Before coming here I didn't think I would experience a culture shock at all because I am latin American and I speak Spanish, but I was surprised by the many cultural differences between this culture and the ones I'm used to (US American, Argentine, Spaniard, Jewish, etc.). The time perspective has definitely been the hardest one to get used to. And although it might not seem as bad when you're reading this, it has been a challenge for me. But after approximately 10 days of being here, I think I've gotten used to it. I want to make sure it's clear that I am not complaining or criticizing the culture. I just see it very different to what I'm used to and I wanted to describe my challenge. Also, I am obviously over-generalizing a little. My judgement is based on the little bit that I have experienced in Campeche, which is my host family and the place where I'm doing my internship (the "secretaria de turismo municipal").

I hope you enjoyed reading this! I will keep writing as much as I can. I will tell you more about my job, the places I've been to, the host family, etc. Thanks for reading!

SP

bienvenidos

Welcome to my blog! I will be writing about my experience in a town called Campeche, located in the yucatan peninsula, in Mexico. I will be describing everything I learn from the local culture and the place.